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Weaving a Revolution Closing Celebration

Saturday, April 27, 2013 - 12:00pm - Sunday, April 28, 2013 - 4:00pm

The Natural History Museum of Utah, Special Exhibits Gallery

Mary Holiday Black is the matriarch of the contemporary Navajo basket movement that resulted in an explosion of new basket designs. Together with her daughters, Sally Black and Lorraine Black, she was among the first weavers to explore figurative and abstract designs, opening a new artistic door that allowed many other weavers to pursue their individual creativity. Mary’s revolutionary work has been recognized with both a Utah Governor Folk Art Award and a National Heritage Fellowship Award from the National Endowment for the Arts. To her weaving is a way of preserving Navajo culture. “There are many basket stories," Mary says. "If we stop making the baskets, we lose the stories."

Join Mary and her daughters as they demonstrates Navajo basket weaving techniques in the Special Exhibits Gallery to celebrate the close of Weaving a Revolution exhibit.

Also Available in Gallery:

Dancing a Revolution: April 27 & 28 A participatory dance performance inspired by themes in the exhibition and created with dancers from the University of Utah Department of Modern Dance.

Basket Conversations: Have a question? Trained gallery interpreters will be on hand to answer questions about the exhibit and share the story of the Navajo basket revolution.